1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to biometric imaging technology, and in particular, to live scanning of prints.
2. Background
Law enforcement, banking, voting, and other commercial industries rely upon biometrics (e.g., handprint, fingerprints, etc.) as a means for authenticating the identity of an individual. The biometric processing applications used by these industries require the capturing of high quality biometric image.
Biometric imaging systems may include, but are not limited to, print imaging systems. Such print imaging systems are also referred to as scanners or live scanners. In conventional live scanners, an object such as a hand or finger is placed on the outer surface of a platen. The platen surface can be a surface of a prism or another surface in optical contact with an outside surface of a prism. For example, a platen surface can be a surface of an optical protective layer (e.g., silicon pad) placed on a prism. To produce raw image data representing the biometric print data, an illumination source illuminates the underside of the object. Raw image data representative of valleys, ridges, and other minutiae of a print are then captured.
Proper placement of the print pattern on the platen surface is critical to capturing a high quality image suitable for biometric applications. Even a slight deviation in placement or in the pressure applied by the subject could result in captured image data that is unusable by downstream applications. As a result, prior to forwarding the image data to downstream applications, a system operator typically evaluates the image to ensure that adequate image data has been captured. This evaluation requires the system operator to wait until the scan is completed and the image displayed. Extensive waiting time however is inconvenient and wasteful for both the system operator and the subject.
Therefore, a need exists for a display processing system that can provide rapid visual feedback to allow a system operator to evaluate print placement on the platen surface.